Category: World

Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxi service suffered a sharp setback in Wuhan after a system failure caused more than 100 driverless taxis to stop on roads across the city late on March 31, stranding passengers, disrupting traffic and triggering a wave of police calls that has revived scrutiny of autonomous vehicle safety in China’s biggest testing grounds. Police said no injuries were reported, but the scale of the stoppage and the time some passengers spent trapped inside vehicles have raised fresh

Questions over staffing and tower procedures at New York’s LaGuardia Airport have intensified after documents indicated air traffic control roles may have been combined before the time allowed under local operating rules on the night an Air Canada regional jet collided with a fire truck, killing both pilots. The collision took place at about 11:37 pm local time on March 22, when Air Canada Express Flight 8646, operated by Jazz Aviation, struck the vehicle on Runway 4.The focus of

Nigeria has forfeited a potential revenue surge from elevated crude prices during the Iran war because it could not raise production enough to match the market opportunity, according to Dele Oye, chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics, who said the lost upside could amount to about $20.2 billion a year. He argued that Brent’s climb far above Nigeria’s budget benchmark should have delivered a major fiscal cushion, but weaker output left the country exposed instead of enriched.

Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has begun to edge higher for ships deemed acceptable by Tehran, but the Gulf’s main maritime chokepoint remains tightly controlled and effectively shut to most commercial operators without Iranian clearance. Tracking data cited by Bloomberg showed a gentle rise in signal-on transits, while Reuters and other maritime reports indicate that only a narrow stream of ships linked to countries Iran considers non-hostile has been able to move through.That shift does not amount

Warren Buffett has left open the possibility of making further donations to the Gates Foundation, even as renewed scrutiny of Bill Gates’ past dealings with Jeffrey Epstein complicates one of the most prominent relationships in modern philanthropy. The 95-year-old investor said he is watching developments before deciding whether his long-running annual gifts should continue.The remarks mark a careful shift rather than a clean break. Buffett said he would “wait and see what unfolds” after the United States Department of

South Africa will cut a fuel tax for April to soften the hit from surging global oil prices, as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana moves to contain a steep rise in petrol and diesel costs that threatens to feed inflation across Africa’s most industrialised economy. The step comes as oil markets remain under strain from conflict-linked supply disruption in the Middle East and as the rand has weakened against the dollar, compounding the pressure on imported fuel.Godongwana said the levy

Nasdaq is accelerating the route into its flagship Nasdaq-100 index for large newly listed companies, a rule change that could materially benefit future market debuts such as SpaceX by shortening what has often been a wait of many months. The exchange said the revised methodology will take effect on May 1, allowing certain newly public companies to be assessed by their seventh trading day and, if they qualify, enter the benchmark after their 15th trading day.The change marks a

Japan’s investors are being pushed back towards overseas yield trades as the war involving Iran unsettles the country’s traditional refuge assets, weakens the yen and lifts the cost of imported energy. What had looked like a steadier domestic backdrop at the start of 2026 has been disrupted by a surge in oil prices, renewed pressure on the currency and a sharp reassessment of where Japanese savers and institutions can still find acceptable returns.The immediate trigger is the energy shock

France is expanding its annual energy cheque scheme to an additional 700,000 households, widening a support measure that Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said would begin reaching 3.8 million households from this week as pressure on household budgets intensifies. The extra recipients are due to start receiving the aid from 1 May after the government used broader data matching to identify more eligible homes. Lecornu said the programme would deliver an average of €153 per household, with €600 million mobilised from

Electronic interference that had scrambled vessel tracking across the Persian Gulf eased over the weekend, allowing ships stranded in the war-affected waterway to show positions closer to their true locations and giving operators a clearer picture of navigation risks in one of the world’s most important energy corridors. Maritime security guidance issued on 29 March said GNSS, GPS and AIS disruption had moderated over the previous 24 to 48 hours and was now judged “sporadic and localised”, a marked change

South Africa’s Western Cape High Court has authorised life-saving surgery for a six-year-old girl after her parents withheld consent on cultural and religious grounds, in a ruling that is likely to sharpen debate over the limits of parental authority when a child’s survival is at stake. The case centred on Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, where doctors said urgent amputations were the only viable treatment to prevent further harm after the child developed severe complications from

North Korea has carried out a ground test of a newly upgraded high-thrust solid-fuel engine, with leader Kim Jong-un saying the development would strengthen the country’s strategic strike capability and advance its military modernisation drive. State media said Kim observed the test and described it as an important step in the ruling party’s five-year defence plan, a programme that has centred on building faster-launching missiles and a more survivable nuclear force.The reported test, disclosed by the Korean Central News

Tottenham Hotspur have parted company with Igor Tudor after only 44 days and seven matches in charge, deepening a season that has already lurched through managerial upheaval, poor results and growing fear over the club’s Premier League status. The north London side confirmed on Sunday that Tudor had left by mutual consent, with goalkeeping coach Tomislav Rogic and physical coach Riccardo Ragnacci also departing.Tudor had been appointed on 14 February after Tottenham dismissed Thomas Frank, but he was unable

Disneyland Paris has formally opened a new phase of its long-running expansion, using the March 29 debut of World of Frozen to relaunch its second gate as Disney Adventure World, a move the company says marks the biggest transformation in that park’s history. Official announcements from Disneyland Paris, backed by Reuters and Associated Press reporting, show the renamed park now centres on a large new Frozen-themed land, a reworked central promenade, new dining venues and a lake-based night show, while

Anger over the war with Iran has widened the scope of the anti-Trump “No Kings” protests across the United States, turning what began as a broad movement against executive overreach into a sharper rebuke of the White House’s foreign and domestic agenda. Demonstrations on Saturday spread through more than 3,100 locations across all 50 states, with organisers and news reports describing one of the largest coordinated days of protest since Donald Trump returned to office.The biggest focal point was

Tiger Woods was arrested in Florida on Friday after a rollover crash near his Jupiter Island home, with authorities saying he showed signs of impairment after his Land Rover struck a truck trailer while attempting to pass on a two-lane residential road. Officers said a Breathalyzer test found no alcohol, but Woods refused a urine test, leading to an additional misdemeanour charge under Florida law. He was later released after the minimum detention period required in the state for DUI

Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, has expanded its push into prediction markets with a fresh $600 million investment in Polymarket, tightening a partnership that could take its total commitment to almost $2 billion and further pull event-based trading into the financial mainstream. ICE said the new cash injection forms part of a previously announced arrangement and does not expect to materially affect its financial results or capital return plans.The latest move comes after ICE

Zimbabwe has turned a long-signalled restriction on second-hand clothing into formal law, tightening its effort to shield domestic manufacturers even as economists and traders warn that the move could squeeze low-income consumers and deepen pressure on an already fragile apparel market. The measure is now enforced under Statutory Instrument 59 of 2026, which bars the import of second-hand clothes unless an importer holds a government permit issued under tightly controlled conditions.The legal step gives formal backing to a policy

 Gulf tensions are sharpening the risks for African health systems already reliant on imported medicines, as disrupted shipping routes, higher freight bills and delayed emergency supplies expose how vulnerable the continent remains to external shocks while governments push to expand local drug production.The strain has moved beyond theory. Aid officials said this week that cholera supplies for countries including Chad and South Sudan were being held up because stocks stored in Dubai were caught in a logistics backlog linked to

African Development Bank Group is set to launch the 2026 edition of its Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook report on 30 March at its headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, placing the continent’s growth prospects, debt strains and inflation risks under fresh scrutiny at a time of heightened global uncertainty. The event is expected to draw policymakers, investors and development specialists looking for updated guidance on how African economies are navigating a difficult external environment while trying to sustain reform and

 Safe-haven demand pushed the US dollar towards its strongest monthly advance since July, as investors sought liquidity and relative shelter from a widening Middle East energy shock while also scaling back expectations for Federal Reserve easing this year. The dollar index was trading near 100.17 on March 27 and was up about 2.6 per cent for the month, a move that outpaced most major peers.Currency markets have been driven by a mix of geopolitics, oil and interest-rate repricing. Escalating tension

 Seychelles has used two high-level forums in Malabo to press for stronger backing for small island states and to elevate youth priorities within the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, with Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Minister Barry Faure taking a visible role in both meetings. The government said Faure addressed the Small Island Development States forum and later served as rapporteur at the youth forum, a position that gives Seychelles a hand in shaping recommendations for the summit of

A decision by Donald Trump to extend a pause on military strikes targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure into April has injected a fresh layer of uncertainty into a conflict that has already rippled across the Middle East, disrupted oil markets and heightened global inflation concerns.The move follows nearly four weeks of escalating hostilities involving Iran, regional militias and US-backed forces, with attacks on energy installations, shipping routes and strategic facilities intensifying fears of a broader regional war. Thousands of casualties have